internationales

+++ This website contains archive material for Green Budget Europe; please click through to www.green-budget.eu for GBE’s new website. +++

Green Budget Europe in the NewsBrussels, 9 June 2015GBE's James Nix is published in the EU Observer surrounding growth in fossil fuel subsidies within the EU in light of the recent G7's call for decarbonisation

London, 5 June 2015The Financial Times publishes a letter by Green Budget Europe's James Nix calling for an end to fossil fuel subsidies

Brussels, 28 May 2015GBE's James Nix is published in Euractiv in relation to the decision by the EU Commission not to advice against fossil fuel subsidies in its country specific recommendations

Country Specific Recommendations Brussels, 25 February 2015GBE, together with EEB, CEE Bankwatch and WWF, developed alternative Country Specific Recommendations for greening the EU economy within the European Semester Process for 21 EU Member States

Third Annual Conference of the Green Growth Knowledge PlatformVenice, 29-30 January 2015Kai Schlegelmilch, Vice-President and Co-Founder of Green Budget Germany (GBG), gave an interview about the paper "Fiscal considerations in the design of green tax reforms", which he co-authored with Amani Joas. The paper was commissioned by the GGKP Fiscal Instruments Research Committee for the Third Annual Conference of the Green Growth Knowledge Platform (GGKP) and is available online.

16th Global Conference on Environmental Taxation: Green Fiscal Reform: Protecting our Natural Resources for a Sustainable FutureSydney, 23-26 September 2015The 16th Global Conference on Environmental Taxation (GCET) will be organised in Sydney, Australia, in September 2015. If you are interested in the GCET in general or want to submit an abstract for publication, please click here for more information.

Never let a good crisis go to waste: Windows of opportunity for Environmental Fiscal Reform within the European Semester - Side-Event of the "Greening the European Semester Expert Group"Brussels, 28 January 2015Organised by Green Budget Europe and hosted by the European Commission, this side-event to the Greening the European Semester expert group brought together 33 representatives of 11 EU-Member States, NGOs and the European Commission to exchange knowledge about the potential of environmental fiscal reform in very open, in-depth and fruitful discussions. To learn more, click here.

Release of the report on the capacity building workshop of the EU Alliance for a democratic, social and sustainable European SemesterBrussels, December 2014GBE as member of the Steering Committee of the EU Alliance co-organised a very successful capacity building workshop in June 2014. The report on this workshop has now been released and can be read here.

Hearing on „Strengthening the legitimacy of the European Semester to get smart, sustainable and inclusive growth - Giving a Voice to Civil Society proposals for Europe 2020"Brussels, 3 December 2014GBE as member of the Steering Committee of the "EU Alliance for a democratic, social and sustainable European Semester" co-organised a hearing, hosted by Jean Lambert (Greens/EFA) and Marian Harkin (ALDE), to discuss the European Semester with the new European Parliament and European Commissioners. Please find more information here.

European Environmental Bureau, Annual ConferenceBrussels, Belgium, 1-2 December 2014The EEB 40th anniversary conference looked at Europe at the crossroads: The challenge of environmental sustainability. Jacqueline Cottrell (GBE) contributed to a panel on "economy and environment", focussing on opportunities for change in the coming years and discussing possible strategies and messages to improve understanding and communication of EFR issues.

Congreso Nacional de Madio Ambiente (CONAMA)Madrid, Spain, 27 November 2014Eike Meyer (GBE) contributed to a thematic session on environmental taxation at the largest conference on environmental policy in Spain. Together with MPs, policy-makers and academic experts, he discussed benefits and obstacles of an environmental tax reform in Spain. At the end of the session, participants adopted a consensual declaration in favour of environmental taxation measures. Here, you can read an interview with Eike Meyer on the experiences with EFR in other countries and its potential for Spain (in Spanish). Green Budget Europe Annual Conference: "Recovery, Jobs and Sustainable Prosperity. A New Agenda for Green Fiscal Reform in Europe"Brussels, 5 November 2014 Green Budget Europe's Annual Conference took place on November 5th in the Permanent Representation of Norway to the EU in Brussels. For more information on that day, please visit the event website.

Green Budget Europe Founding Meeting Brussels, 4 November 2014 GBE has officially been established as an independent NGO based in Brussels. If you are interested in becoming a member and joining us, please visit our website for more information.

Public Consultation on the Europe2020 strategyBrussels, 31 October 2014In the context of the mid-term review of the Europe2020 strategy by the European Commission, GBE participated in the public consultation and argues why Environmental Fiscal Reform needs to be promoted more strongly through the European Semester. Read the full answer to the public consultation here.

Release of the report "Let's make the European Semester smart, sustainable and inclusive"Brussels, October 2014GBE, as member of the EU Alliance for a democratic, social and sustainable European Semester, assessed the content and process of the European Semester in 2014, in the context of the Mid-Term Review of Europe 2020 and its governance processes. The final report can be assessed here.

Border Carbon Adjustments WorkshopBrussels, 7 October 2014GBE, together with Vivid Economics, hosted an expert seminar to explore and discuss the possibilities of Border Carbon Adjustments (BCAs) as an alternative to the current system of free allowances in the ETS. Stakeholders from industry, academics, NGOs and the OECD and IEA participated. For more information, please click here.

Global Conference on Environmental TaxationCopenhagen, Denmark, 24-26 September 2014GBE was co-sponsor of the Global Conference on Environmental Taxation, held this year in Copenhagen, Denmark. The GBE team presented its research findings from the FRE-Communicate project, including investigations into communication and political acceptance of Environmental Fiscal Reform, and analysis of political opportunities for reform through the European Semester process in two of the project target countries, Spain and Germany. Professor Paul Ekins of University College London presented the preliminary findings of a report commissioned by GBE and due to be published in the coming months. To read more about the conference, click here.

Constanze Adolf publishes Article in International Tax ReviewBrussels, September 2014Constanze Adolf, director of the Brussels Office GBE, published an article on "Environmental Fiscal Reform: Windows of Opportunity" in the International Tax Review.

Open Letter to Commission President JunckerBrussels, 11 September 2014The Green10, ten of the largest environmental organisations and networks active on the European level, wrote an open letter to Commission President Juncker, concerning the sidelining of the environmental portfolio in the new Commission.

Question for the designated Commissioner for Economic and Monetary AffairsBrussels, 5 September 2014GBE has sent a question to Mr. Gualtieri, Chair of the ECON Committee in the European Parliament, to be asked to the designated Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs.

Informal Joint Meeting of EU Environment and Labour MinistersMilan, Italy, 17 July 2014 Dr. Anselm Görres, President of GBE, spoke at the first ever joint informal meeting of Ministers of Environment and Labour on opportunities created by a transition to a green economy. To see the conclusions of this meeting, click here.

GBE publishes Special Edition of its NewsletterBrussels, July 2014Have a look at the Special Edition of Green Budget News on the European Elections.

Semester Alliance drafts Question to the Candidate President of the European CommissionBrussels, 7 July 2014Barbara Helfferich, chair of the EU Semester Alliance, wrote a question to the future President of the European Commission on increased democratic legitimacy and engagement in the European Semester.

GBE at a poster session at the 5th World Congress of Environmental and Resource Economists - WCEREIstanbul, Turkey, 28 June - 2 July 2014Aldo Ravazzi, GBE Vice-President, presented a poster on behalf of Jacqueline Cottrell entitled "Exploring ways to boost public acceptance and support of green taxes" at the 5th World Congress of Environmental and Resource Economists at Istanbul Technical University, Turkey. It was based on research findings from GBE's FRE-Communicate project.

Jacqueline Cottrell contributes to new publicationCheltenham, UK, June 2014Jacqueline Cottrell, Senior Policy Advisor at GBE, contributed a chapter on the political economy of subsidy reform, focusing on drivers for change, in "Paying the polluter: Environmentally harmful subsidies and their reform", edited by Frans Oosterhuis and Patrick ten Brinck (Edward Elgar 2014).

Environmental Fiscal Reform, Growth, and Employment in the Context of the Spanish Debate on Tax ReformMadrid, Spain, 12 June 2014This panel debate was organised in cooperation with the Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia. See further information here.

European Semester - Capacity Building WorkshopBrussels, 6 June 2014GBE, as part of the Steering Committee of the European Semester Alliance for a democratic, social and sustainable European Semester, co-organised a 1-day Capacity Building workshop for 35 Alliance members in Brussels which several participants considered a "very useful, dynamic and powerful day". GBE Vice-President András Lukács presented best practice examples from Hungary. Read more.

Environmental Tax Reform in Times of Economic Crisis - GBE co-organised a series of high-level EFR events in CyprusNicosia, Cyprus, 5-6 of June 2014Cyprus, a Eurozone country, is currently faced with not only a serious financial and fiscal crisis, but also with several environmental problems notably energy-related ones. GBE co-organised a number of high-level meetings to discuss opportunities for an enhanced EFR agenda for Cyprus within its GBE-project. Please find more information here.

EFR Training in MauritiusMauritius, 12-16 May 2014Jacqueline Cottrell and Kai Schlegelmilch developed a concept for and facilitated a 5-day capacity building workshop on Fossil Fuel to Renewable Energy (FFRE) transition policies in Mauritius for UNOSD. Participants from Indian Ocean and African small island developing states (SIDS) came together in the "UN Year of the SIDS" to discuss ways of achieving energy independence and promoting energy transition in their countries. More information is available on the UNOSD website.

GBE publishes Spring NewsletterBrussels, April 2014Have a look at the Spring Newsletter of GBE, containing additional information on GBE activities and interesting articles.

GBE consulted as an expert by ECSCBrussels, 25 March 2014GBE was consulted as an expert for an opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the market-based instruments towards a resource-efficient and low carbon economy in the EU.

Hans Eichel calls on the European Council to make use of the European SemesterKassel, 20 March 2014Hans Eichel wrote a letter to "Make use of the European Semester. Input to the European Council, 20-21 March 2014". It is directed at the Heads of State and Government and the President of the European Council.

Spanish Stakeholders call for EFR in SpainBrussels, 13 March 2014Our Spanish partners have published a manifesto to enhance Environmental Fiscal Reform in Spain (in Spanish).

Release Report on TTIPBrussels, 10 March 2014GBE, in cooperation with the Heinrich Böll Stiftung, released a report entitled "TTIP and Fossil Fuel Subsidies: Using international policy processes as entry points for reform in the EU and the USA".

Country Specific Recommendations Brussels, March 2014GBE, EEB and CEE Bankwatch developed Country Specific Recommendations for a greening of the EU economy within the process of the European Semester for 18 Member States.

GBE writes letter to Sharon BowlesBrussels, 17January 2014GBE sends letter on the Fiscal consolidation, structural reforms and carbon taxation at the European Parliamentary Week to Sharon Bowles, Chair of the European Parliament's Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs.